Smallville: "Arctic" Review

Lex's hunt for the truth finally comes to an end.

"Arctic" represents the culmination of Alfred Gough and Miles Millar's vision that was set into motion seven years ago. This may not be a series finale, but this is where they close their chapter of the Superman story. Unfortunately, with the pressure of having to leave several doors open for the next showrunners, this episode misses its mark. Something that could have been truly epic feels fairly average and only teases us with a few moments of greatness.

The glaring problem with "Arctic" is that it has far too many loose ends to tie up in a very short period of time. Skillful writers can do a great deal with only 44 minutes of television but this season has been stumbling to the finish line and there was nothing that could really save it. Besides the pre-credit sequence, the reintroduction of Kara Kent was underwhelming and predictable. Her actions early in the episode set up the expected return of Brainiac and her scenes with Clark were devoid of any emotional investment. Early in the season, we mentioned that Clark and Kara had fairly good chemistry together but over the course of the season, as they spent less time together, we lost interest in their story.

As mentioned, Brainiac returned this week. There was a time when the appearance of this character would be a cause for celebration. He was an exciting departure from the usual freak of the week story and actually made Smallville feel like part of the Superman universe. Well, they've managed to suck the fun right out of him and his appearance in "Arctic" is a perfect example. His reveal was predictable and hardly exciting. Sadly, Brainiac's final scene versus Clark is uninspired, with very little effort actually put into making this an exciting action sequence. Instead, we're treated to the usual short fight sequence (if it can actually be called a fight) and Clark defeating Brainiac with the very electricity that he was using to recharge himself.

Lana's appearance in this episode is a bit of a joke. After Clark defeats Brainiac, she makes a full recovery from her coma but decides not to stay for the reunion. The video she leaves behind for Clark may deliver an emotional impact for some but it doesn't replace what could have been a proper reunion. Also, how many times has Lana left Smallville during a season finale? Is this the only cliffhanger that the writers can come up with? It's a disappointing conclusion to the central love story of the entire series. Lois walking into the room and hugging a teary eyed Clark Kent was a respectable nod to the future, but it does very little to evolve their relationship. This isn't the Clark Kent who falls in love with Lois Lane and they shouldn't even try to attempt that on this series.

Michael Rosenbaum as Lex Luthor, Tom Welling as Clark Kent

Thankfully, this isn't going to be the last time we see Chloe Sullivan on Smallville because it would have been a disappointing departure. This is a rather run-of-the-mill episode for Chloe who does her usual "hack-into-a-computer-and-tell-Clark-what-to-do-next-routine" that she has become so good at. Besides, Clark holding her hand in the ICU of Smallville Medical, the episode lacks a moment for these two pivotal characters to connect. Even though Allison Mack is returning next season, it would have been nice to have seen a much more active Chloe in such an important episode.

It was strange watching the final scene between Clark and Lex. This was a moment that I envisioned seven years ago when the series started. The show was obviously going in a direction that would have the two cross paths and, at some point, they would probably have Lex discover Clark's secret. It was inevitable and an understandable departure from the comics that would hopefully be corrected at a later time. For the sake of Smallville's narrative, it had to happen. While this moment did have a certain emotional impact, it was still underwhelming. For such a key scene in the Smallville mythos, it deserved to have more screen time dedicated to it.

After the Lex/Clark cliffhanger, it will be interesting to see how they explain Lex's disappearance or if they manage to wrangle Rosenbaum in for a season premiere guest appearance on the show. Either way, I'm expecting the inevitable explanation of amnesia due to falling fortress to be the reason he doesn't remember Clark is a Kryptonian.